The invention relates generally to devices used in packaging, storing and transporting, and more specifically to a modular pallet for packaging, storing and transporting items with shapes that inhibit them from being readily stacked.
It is known in the transporting/shipping industry that an apparatus should be used to retain cargo for stability and ease in movement before, during, and after shipping. The generic category for such an apparatus is a “pallet” or a “skid”. A pallet is formed from a plurality of perpendicular members stacked and attached in such a way to permit a forklift (also called a lift truck, a fork truck, or a forklift truck) to lift and manipulate them. A pallet is used to elevate one or more objects (herein referred to as “cargo”) above a surface on which the pallet rests. A forklift has horizontal forks extending from the front of the forklift that extend into voids formed under a pallet and its cargo to enable the forklift to transport the pallet short distances, such as within a warehouse, dock, semi-trailer or any other enclosure or area.
Cargo is placed on a pallet and commonly secured to the pallet to prevent movement of the cargo relative to the pallet during transportation. An example of cargo that is commonly stacked on a pallet is parallelepiped boxes. Identical boxes may be stacked neatly on the top of a pallet and attached to the pallet by single-use straps made of plastic or metal, tacky polymer sheeting commonly referred to as “shrink wrap”, or any other fastener. Conventional pallets work well for a plurality of identical or even dissimilar boxes that stack well and pack tightly because they tend not to shift during transit. It is more difficult to attach spherical, circular cylindrical or oddly-shaped cargo to pallets. For example, if someone wishes to ship multiple cylindrical grinding wheels, as shown in FIG. 1, such wheels are typically placed with their curved sides between two substantially identical and parallel slats of a conventional pallet, and straps are fixed around the cargo. This provides little resistance to rolling or other shifting of the heavy grinding wheels relative to the pallet, and only works when the space in the pallet can accommodate the cargo.
There is a need for a pallet that accommodates various sizes of spherical, circular cylindrical and oddly-shaped objects, and enables stable attachment of such objects to the pallet.